The Last Detail

by Darryl Ponicsan

Unlike the other branches of the armed services, the navy draws its police force from the ranks, as temporary duty. The risk is that men on Shore Patrol might bring their humanity to the task. This accounts for the underlying tension in "The Last Detail", which takes place during the height of the Vietnam War. Billy Bad-Ass and Mule Mulhall, two career sailors in transit in Norfolk, awaiting permanent orders, are given a "chaser" duty. Their assignment is to escort and deliver Larry Meadows, an 18-year-old sailor, from Norfolk to Portsmouth, N.H., where he is to serve an eight year sentence in the brig. It's good duty, on the face of it, until the two old salts realize the injustice of the sentence and are oddly affected by the true innocence of their prisoner, even though he is guilty as charged. Failure, or refusal, to carry out their duty is never a question, no matter how much they hate the detail or how wrong it seems, and yet something must be done, some gesture made in order to help their hapless prisoner survive the long ordeal he faces, and to purge their own sense of shame. "The Last Detail" was Darryl Ponicsan's first book and it catapulted him into the front rank of American novelists. It was made into the 1973 film starring Jack Nicholson, and has become a classic of the Golden Age of American cinema. This new edition of "The Last Detail" coincides with the publication of its long-awaited sequel, "Last Flag Flying", also available from The Wright Press.

Genres: Fiction, War, Military Fiction, Audiobook, Literary Fiction, Drinking, Nautical

152 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1971

About the author

Aka Anne Argula

Darryl Ponicsan (pronounced PAHN-i-son; born May 26, 1938) is an American writer. He is best known as the author of the 1971 novel The Last Detail, which was adapted into a 1973 movie starring Jack Nicholson; and for the 1973 novel and screenplay Cinderella Liberty, starring James Caan. Ponicsan writes mystery novels under the pen name Anne Argula.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tale about Sailors; men in the Navy. I was in the Marines, but every part of this tale was familiar to me. You don't need a lot of details about the detail. A detail is often busy work, but a detail can also be important work. In this story two lifers...career servicemen...have to escort another sailor to another base with a jail facility....a brig. Usually, a detail is assigned to single men living in a barracks. As a young corporal, I had to lead a detail into the enlisted base housing to clean a young Marine's brains off the wall in his living room. He was cleaning his weapon and forgot about the round in the chamber......boom....dead Marine.

I could recount several stories, but not here....not now. I'm not the type who wants to relive the experiences of a time now past. Those days were unique to that war at that time. Most of the lifers were drunk and most of the snuffies were high on an assortment of substances. All I will say about that is....ya just had to be there to understand...stateside and in Southeast Asia....Michael

[Jakky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the read. Throughout the book, I could easily picture this unlikely, perfect trio: Salty, crusty, wizened Bad-Ass Billy; Cool, barely-contained, tightly-coiled Mule; and heartbreakingly young, untouched, guileless, guilty Larry Meadows. I kept thinking that if this hadn’t already been made into a movie, it oughta’ be. The dialog is believable - at least, it’s as I imagine sailors on shore-leave, temporarily out from under the strict control and command of the US Navy would talk and behave in the racially fraught late 60s. I was entertained and I rooted for the underdog... all three of them.

I didn’t enjoy the present tense narration. It’s just weird and feels a bit theatrical. Maybe that’s the intention. But I would recommend the read and I will definitely seek out the movie, and the sequel, Last Flag Flying.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Last Detail is a classic 70's film. This is the novel it's based on. It's cynical in the way only 70's lit could be, as Shore Patrol takes a sailor to the brig and get sidetracked.

I think the movie is better.

[Rod · Rating 4 out of 5]

RE-READ 1/6/2025
I’ve seen the film adaptation several times since my original review, and my memory of the novel was sketchy, so it was time for a re-read. I enjoyed the novel even more on the second go-round, but it’s still four stars from me. As great as the novel is, the film delivers a much more satisfying, if not much less bleak, conclusion than the book while still being faithful to the characters and dialogue. I’m still on the fence as to whether I want to read the sequel, and from what I can tell the film adaptation of that was modified so it’s a standalone story with no relation to *The Last Detail*.

ORIGINAL REVIEW
So, so close to getting five stars from me; Ponicsan offers hilarious, realistic dialogue, and believable characters and situations, but then craps all over it in the last few pages with a bummer of an ending. Now, I don't expect or require happy endings from the books or films, but if it's a downer ending I like for it to feel organic and earned, not tacked on because hey, it's the early '70s, and it has to be real, maaan. I haven't yet seen the film adaptation, so I don't know if it ends the same way, so maybe I should have made a point of viewing it first. Killing off Billy Bad-Ass seemed unnecessary. I guess Ponicsan decided he felt the same way because he apparently revived him somehow for the sequel, Last Flag Flying. Eh, pass.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen the film version of "The Last Detail" numerous times and count it among my favorite movies. But up until now, I had not read the book it was based on.

They both have the same spirit and camaraderie, but there were significant changes when it was translated to film, and a very different ending.
I like them both, however having seen the movie so many times, I still think of that as the definitive version. I imagine if I had read the book back in 1970, I would be complaining about the changes that were made to it for the silver screen. Oh well...

[Vali Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vivid microcosm of a changing America in the late 1960s. Beautifully written by first time author Darryl Ponicsan, the ideals that the book professes still hold up. As do the questions that it raises. Also, the film adaptation starring Jack Nicholson should not be missed. Highly recommended for fans of 60s America, counter culture and raw storytelling.

[Martyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two sailors Billy Bad-Ass and Mule Mulhall are given a job by their supervisor to send a seaman convicted of theft to prison. The latter, key for the whole story, is a young inconspicuous boy who seems lost in the world around him - Meadows. Initially, Bad-Ass and Mulhall, vigorously begin their mission, hoping that they will complete it quickly and enjoy the remaining time of the pass. The taciturn convict does not care much, but as time passes, a conversation, then sympathy, and finally friendship begin to emerge between the companions on the long journey to Portsmouth prison. But is friendship in such circumstances even possible?

The road theme offered by Darryl Ponicsan in his book is an extremely sad journey due to its final destiny, despite the fact that it is filled with many funny adventures. It brings questions about the essence of freedom, about the joy you can derive from life when you have the opportunity, but also about the meaning and importance of the soldier's code and the obligations resulting from it. The odyssey of three sailors dressed in distinctive uniforms thus bears the marks of irony. Although deprived of a ship, they sail along the city route, and their subsequent ports are, bars, motels, a fun-house or just the streets we walk. By delaying the inevitable, they are caught up in a painful dilemma between faithfulness to their service and an inexpressible sense of injustice and cruelty. Pain affects everyone, but most acutely, of course, Meadows.

In Ponicsan's story we can see the focus on dialogues and building relationships between the characters. The action unfolds slowly, but it is never boring. Words are important but not over-abundant, and calm, intellectually very effective story raising important moral issues will become the writer's trademark.

Although "The Last Detail" is set in the Vietnam War years, it still contains up-to-date questions about our fate and approach to life and time that has been given to us. It does not irritate with a mentoring or pretentious tone, but presents simple people in an absolutely not simple situation, opening up the field for reflection. These must be undertaken by the reader himself, deciding to take the cruise proposed by the author. And Ponicsan will certainly not leave us run aground.

[Chris Gager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between a three and a four. It's a short novel with bleak outcome (different from the movie). Dialogue is featured but is uneven in it's "convincingness". Robert Towne did the screenplay for the also good movie. It naturally boosted the role of Buddusky being played by Jack Nicholson and substantially alters the ending. I spent four years in the Navy around the same period as the book and encountered the same fascistic violence and control described in the book. Unlike the two lifer SP "chasers" in the book I was not happy living in such an environment but I did meet guys who were intelligent and capable who felt that the military was the place for them. The author gives the Marine Corps a hard time in the book. They deserve it. Being good at combat doesn't excuse one from acting like a reasonably adult civilized person outside of it.

[Donna Bijas · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 Career naval soldiers get ashore Patrol duty transporting a young man of 18 to the brig in Massachusetts for an 8 year sentence for stealing $40. What transpires is at times sad, but mostly hilarious as the 2 men decide to show the young man all the things he needs to do/see for the next 8 years. Between booze and hookers, they become friends and after the drop off in MA, the 2 decide not to go back to base. This is a 1970 novel that was made into a movie with Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid. I need to find it. 4 stars.

[Victoria Delgado - Libros para Buddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una novela divertida y nostalgica a la vez.

[Stefano Solventi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finalmente tradotto in italiano il romanzo da cui fu tratto un film memorabile.

https://pensierosecondario.wordpress....

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this contemplative story of two naval officers assigned to transport a prisoner and fellow seaman to his destination for an eight year sentence, the instantly accessible characters explore the range of American experience. From dive bars and brothels to intimate conversations, to an abortive attempt at a winter picnic--Billy and Mule begin as unflappable but immature career officers, Larry as a naive and sensitive young man, and by the end none of them are the same. The author's sense of humor is infectious and cleverly contrasts with the characters' attempts to enjoy themselves, underscoring the contradiction and hypocrisy of their assignment and their commitment to the navy. They carefully examine concepts of obligation and duty, redefining their own personal senses of loyalty as they get to know each other.

As the author mentions in the preface, even though Vietnam is not discussed explicitly in the book, the "war is on every page." Themes of social revolution and questionable governmental narratives pervade the atmosphere as the characters travel northward. At times hilarious, disturbing, insightful and heartbreaking, The Last Detail was a revelation when it debuted in 1970, the adaptation quickly in production from a major studio--but its lessons are as relevant today as ever, and the humor and humanity glimpsed in these pages is timeless. Settle down with a boilermaker and a sausage sandwich for The Last Detail.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven’t seen the movie, but I was familiar with the plot of this book, and with a sequel recently released, I decided to give this one a try. I found the book met my expectations but it didn’t exceed them. I guess I had some high expectations. The journey and the occurences seemed quite familiar in comparison to recent books, but I can understand this was quite a different book when published. I expected to get totally different characters to lead the detail, and a totally different, needy, unworldly sailor to be the subject of the detail. I expected the trip to include learning, growing empathy, and revisiting personal history. I expected the delivery would be to a place similar to Hell. And I expected the payoff would be in the learning of the sailors. I got all of that. It was an enjoyable trip in the literary sense. My best endorsement would be that I after reading this, I plan on seeing the movie and reading the sequel.

[Tate Bailey]

Best book-to-movie adaptation I’ve read. The book is documentary-like in a similar way to the movie. Much of it seems observational and simple. It isn’t!

Love the way the adaption differs. I think both function beautifully on their own. Hal Ashby‘s decision to cut the ending was genius—he still maintains the heaviness / meaning of the novel without explaining it too much.

But the ending of the novel is a hard hitter, one that I think would have ruined the film adaption, but is absolutely essential for the book (and the title).

Billy Bad Ass, Jack Nicholson, I love you.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those novels that is a bit to 'literary' for it's own good. The book is better than the award winning film adapted from it, in that all three of the lead characters have more depth and soul, but the final thirty pages betray and undermine the journey that was made and leave the story pointless and unsatisfying.

[Glenn Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a very long time ago, after seeing the movie, but thoroughly enjoyed it. This is funny and tragic "guy" story filled with the harsher (as well as lighter) truths of life in America - of longing and unfulfilled dreams, prejudice and ignorance versus observation and ultimately some form of enlightenment. Hilarious at times, sorrowful at others - a short but great read.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've seen the trailers for 'Last Flag Flying' and didn't realize it was a sequel until I saw the two books in the library. Out of curiosity I picked it up and read it.

It's definitely a picture of a different time and the Navy and people in it at that time. The language is as salty as the time/place - but I'd caution anyone who's easily offended.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Detail

I can’t believe I have never heard of this book, or the movie adaptation starring Jack Nicholson. I really enjoyed the storyline of all three characters and their interactions. Next up will be the sequel!

[David Partikian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Detail is one of the strongest and most enduring films of the 1970’s, with two lifer Navy enlisted men drawing the “cushy” detail of accompanying an immature Navy prisoner to the brig where he is to serve a ridiculous, Draconian eight years for petty theft. The unfairness of the system and US military bureaucracy is front and center throughout the film, directed by counter-culture icon, Hal Ashby. Such a success is the film, that one might not know it was based on a first novel of the same title by Darryl Ponicsán, who did a hitch in the Navy before working in various other endeavors. Well of course he was in the Navy, because only someone coming from that background could so faithfully parrot the unimaginative profanity in the dialogue. And only a Navy veteran who escaped lifer status can adequately portray the pathos of the Navy lifer, who keeps one-upping 4-year hitches until he gets his twenty years in; those who escape twenty-year status often end up with a FTN (Fuck The Navy) tattoo proudly tattooed on a visible limb. In either case, anyone who spent time in the Navy recognizes that he or she is but a cog in a vast, uncaring bureaucracy.

A book is usually better than a film adaptation; however, in this case I’m going to call it a draw because the movie is so perfect. Yet, The Last Detail is one hell of a first novel, ultimately stronger than other American novels that portray the life of enlisted personnel, The Naked and the Dead or Catch-22. The Last Detail is utterly compelling from the first page to the last. Ponicsán has a fabulous ear for dialogue, so it is not surprising that his books are so filmable.

As I wrote in a (similar) review of Ponicsán’s second novel, written shortly after, Cinderella Liberty: one could teach a master class in screenplay by discussing the major points that were changed in each novel to make the films ultimately so enduring. In the case of The Last Detail, a sub-plot with the protagonist Billy running into his wife, from whom he is separated, in NYC allows Ponicsán to—presumably—insert a lot of autobiographical material, making Billy Buddusky (with a nod to Melville) too bright to be a successful enlisted man. He is described in the opening scene as reading a dogeared copy of Camus’s The Stranger. The theme of the alienated, gentleman seaman, no matter how much of a “bad-ass,” has been hackneyed since Melville; studio screenwriter, Robert Towne, was correct in simplifying the Billy Buddusky character, brilliantly portrayed in the film by a crapulous, sneering Jack Nicholson. Even more important though is the nixing of the original book ending. Note: no Billy Budd* spoiler because this book should still be in print and read often. While Hollywood Endings tend to be, well, Hollywood Endings, Towne and other screenwriters correctly changed Ponicsán’s bleak, nicely wrapped-up, and sorrowful denouement with (gasp) a more European ambiguous one that Hollywood—as a rule--tends to keep at arms distance. If the book is tragic--we all know what becomes of the too bright enlisted man--it is also obvious and contrived due to the last chapters; An astute reader with some maritime or military experience won’t believe it for a second; the novel is based on a real incident that was related to Ponicsán, so the book ending is indeed contrived and detracts from the novel as a whole, It is—perhaps—why the novel is not better known; this is, however, an understandable flaw in a first novel that was honed in a writing workshop during an era of American novels where the pieces are supposed to neatly fit together; the movie is nothing short of brilliant and ahead of its time precisely because the Hollywood Ending is absent. Navy life is bleak and the protagonists return to their cog-like existences with the detail just being another week of excruciating shore leave, albeit with a moral dilemma.

Ponicsán’s two early Navy novels have earned a spot on my maritime bookshelf particularly because they portray the enlisted Navy world, which is pretty much quasi-maritime, perfectly. The depiction of Navy minutiae withstands the test of time. Despite its flaws, The Last Detail is a forgotten, counter-culture classic and gets a five star rating for achieving everything that a maritime novel is expected to achieve to gain a place on a shelf with Redburn and White-Jacket, both of which also have flaws.

*OK, I lied.

[Nick Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the novel many years ago. I also read at the time that its author attended Cal State LA; I went to Cal State Northridge, where I studied poetry and English Literature with a focus on American Literature of the 20th Century. Poets Ann Stanford and Benjamin Saltman were my writing teachers, the later much more able to teach poetry than the former; she was very academic. Nice, but I really wasn't interested in knowing how to write a villanelle or sonnet. The ending of the novel, "The Last Detail," is quite different from the film. I enjoyed both the novel and the movie. The ending of "Cinderella Liberty," the film, was a stretch; I can't remember how the novel ended. I was in the Navy and served aboard a U.S. minesweeper (MSO) and was stationed in Long Beach, when I wasn't on a WestPac Cruise. Writing fiction is a very different set of muscles than writing poetry. Jack Nicholson was very funny in the film version of "The Last Detail." He captured well how some "squids" act, especially some lifers. I seem to remember the novel ended badly for the central character. I recount the character portrayed by Nicholson in the film getting throttled. It's been a very long time since I read the novel. I recall the central character having gone over the hill and being picked up by the short patrol and getting into a serious fight in which he was seriously harmed when struck over the head with a shore patrolman's night stick. I think he was killed in the novel. I can't remember how the novel, "Cinderella Liberty" ended. The movie's ending was absurd. Very Hollywood. Both films and books however were quite enjoyable. Both "good reads."

I highly recommend the author consider reading Benjamin Saltman's "A Termite Memoir." Saltman sent me his memoir in 1997, a year or so before his death in January, 1999. What a story! I didn't realize I had the only complete copy of the manuscript. I held onto it before asking his wife in 2017 if I could publish it. I published it through my own Phoenix Press in 2018. It is a testament to how difficult a writer's life can be, especially that of a poet. Of great interest are the chapters recounting Ben Saltman's two year recovery at Sampson Naval Hospital in Sampson, NY, from tuberculosis. Saltman would have surely died had the infection been in the lung rather than located outside it. The book chronicles his "adventures" at the University of Pittsburg, the four months he lived in Chicago after graduating, a short time in New Orleans, four years in Denver, Colorado, where he meets a Catholic girl named Dorris, spelled with an additional letter r, his matriculation to San Francisco State where he earned an M.A. in English Literature; his first year of teaching at Sierra College in Auburn, California; several years teaching at an experimental college called Emerson, in Pacific Grove, and working on his Ph.D at Claremont Graduate School where he met poet Bert Meyers. While finishing up at Claremont, he taught at Harvey Mudd and then accepted a teaching postion at Cal State Northridge where he taught for many years, and where I met him.

I also published his collection of poems titled, "The Book of Moss," which received notice in the "Los Angeles Times" Sunday Book Review in August, 1992. Susan Reynolds, the Poetry Editor at the "Times" also printed a poem from the book and a photograph of Saltman. I have also published two other books of poems written by Benjamin Saltman.

Nicholas Campbell

Nicholas Campbell

[Carlos Bexlier · Rating 2 out of 5]

El último deber es un libro escrito por Darryl Ponicsan en que nos cuenta la historia de Billy y Mule; dos marines en la época que transcurre la guerra de Vietnam, y ambos son designados para escoltar a Larry quién es un hombre de apenas 18 años de edad que cometió un "crimen".

Cabe decir que el crimen que cometió es algo medio absurdo y lo dejarán 8 años en la cárcel,así que durante 5 días (que son los que dura el recorrido hasta llegar a la cárcel)los marines le enseñarán muchas cosas de la vida, qué es ser un hombre, cosas tan mundanas como el sexo, tardes de cervezas,peleas, amor y todo lo que puede ocurrir en un ambiente rodeado de puros hombres.

No los cuento más para no arruinarles la novela pero les diré mi opinión:
Primeramente leí el libro porque me encanta el tema de Vietnam,la Unión Soviética y en general todo lo ocurrido durante esa época, justo el llevar a Larry a la cárcel es una tarea super fácil para los soldados puesto que de verdad hay cosas peores que pasaron en esos años, como el caso del agente naranja que envió Estados Unidos a la guerra ( El agente naranja fue un ácido que se arrojo durante la guerra que hizo que gente sufriera deformaciones en un futuro y que la flora y fauna de Vietnam muriera), incluso el inicio de los hippies y a lucha feminista.

Así que el libro es ligero, como es un ambiente rodeado de hombres 11 de 10 cosas que dicen tienen que ver con sexo o derivados y honestamente yo estaba muerto de risa.

Me encanta todo lo que tiene que ver con soldados,policías, marinos, es un gusto raro que quiero compartirles y como considerado el mejor libro referente a estos temas me llamó aún más la atención, pero les diré sus puntos malos.

Lo primero es que es un libro viejito que en aquellos años supongo fue muy leído, pero actualmente tiene muchas referencias a cosas pasadas, casi en cada hoja tienes que leer el pie de página para comprender a que se refieren, eso hace lenta la lectura y es cansado a la larga.

Y el peor de ellos es la traducción, mi ejemplar está cargado en exceso de palabras españolas (es de editorial Berenice), no sé si haya otra edición en español más neutral, pero eso si le bajó muchos puntos.

Sí es un libro que con una mejor edición hubiera amado mucho, y aunque no le pongo la mejor calificación del mundo si los animo a leerlo, está interesante, aprenderás cosas de la época y cambiará quizás tu panorama a no juzgar a las personas, porque toda acción es por algo y algunas veces no nos ponemos en los zapatos de los demás.

Al final le dejé una calificación de 2/5 estrellas.

[Skyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

AudioBook. Narrator: Bronson Pinchot


When two seasoned sailors get Shore Patrolled to escort a young naive sailor to Prison for petty theft -- a boring temporary duty turns into drunken wisdom, life pondering, and hilarity.

Billy "Baddass" and Mulehall have 5 days to transport, young sailor Meadows to prison. Shortly after the journey begins, the old sailors take a liking to Meadows and decide to show him the "time of his life" before he gets locked up for 8 years, after stealing $40.00 from the PX.

While thinking this is just going to be another boring detail, the two sailors take a liking to the young sailor and the injustice served to Meadows makes Muller and Billy ponder their own lives surrounding the only thing they have every know for the last 15 years -- the navy.


I really enjoyed this book. It was very Salty and hilarious. There were no holds in the language of this book and the narrator did a great job portraying the characters. Set in during Vietnam, I found the book true to the era and thought it was absolutely hilarious and so politically incorrect but in a good way. You don't have to have a military background to enjoy this story. Not only was it amusing and witty, it also shows the struggles of the three soldiers and their detail and the friendship and bond that was created between the three of them.

3.5 stars -- I am listening to the 2nd book now that was released some 30 years later; The Last Flag Flying. Then off to watch the movie.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up out of curiosity after rewatching the movie and feeling a bit bothered by how incomplete the film feels — it ends very abruptly after the central characters part ways at the prison, and to my mind, there's no real feeling that the movie wraps up its themes, or says something meaningful about how this whole experience changed the characters. Come to find out, the book has a VERY different, much more elaborate and protracted ending that takes things in a very different direction for all three of them. I found it much more satisfying, and thought it felt much more complete and thought-through.

Prose-wise, this is not an elaborate or often particularly artistic book. It's simple and stripped-down, with a lot of dialogue and blunt summaries of what people are thinking or doing. It's a fast, satisfying read, focused on the characters and how immediately and directly they live, how much they both do and don't think about the future, what they want and how they pursue it. This trio is pretty surprising, in a lot of ways — out for pleasure and immediate gratification, but they aren't basic or simplistic. They don't feel like they were written as symbols or archetypes, or illustrations of a class or idea or ideal of military men. I found this book pretty breathless and compelling, even as it's dealing with a very small and personal series of interactions.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

We see into the minds of two career sailors, Billy and Mule, as they transport an 18-year old sailor (Larry) to serve an 8-year sentence in navy prison for stealing $40. The injustice is in the sentence. Larry is a self-confessed kleptomaniac, but he did not receive adequate representation at his trial, so this was not known by those who sentenced him.
Billy and Mule do not know each other until they are thrown together to complete their assignment: to transport Larry to prison in New Hampshire. They begin to like Larry, and take him under their wing. They throw regulation to the wind and decide to show him a good time in the 5 days they are given to complete the transfer.
The book successfully explores the growing friendship between the three guys and successfully portrays their growing awareness of the injustice which they are unwittingly required to carry out. The conversations are believable and as graphic. The author paints a vivid picture of these hard-living Navy guys....and effectively paints the contrast their naïve charge.
This book is funny, sweet, poignant, and sad. It is short and can be read in one evening. Definitely worth your time.

[James Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, this is an amazing, incredible, and thoroughly entertaining book. The story of two veteran Navy sailors being detailed to act as Shore Patrol and escort a seaman recruit prisoner to the Naval brig in Portsmouth, New Hampshire may not seem very interesting. Yet the power of Darryl Ponicsan's prose reveals a story of camaraderie and friendship as the two veterans take pity on their young charge and, regulations be damned, decide to indulge in various and sundry adventures in the process of getting him to Portsmouth. This is a novel that is definitely worth seeking out.

[Ron Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This excellent short novel follows two sailors, Billie “Bad-Ass” Buddusky and Mule Mulhall, who are assigned to escort 18-year-old fellow sailor Larry Meadows to prison to serve an eight-year sentence for petty theft. Along the way, they become friendly with Larry and decide to provide him with a bit of adventure before reaching their destination. The story has a mythical quality, reminiscent of The Odyssey in some respects. Note that the novel contains strong language due to the sailors’ dialogue. I have not seen the 1973 movie version starring Jack Nicholson, but I mean to.

[Zachary Duval · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely drops in quality when the mission is complete and probably works better in the cinematic lens as most of the book is just characters sitting around talking, drinking and going nowhere despite the vulgar/outdated language lobbied throughout. I felt more for Charlotte and her relationship with Billy than anything else, but such aforementioned sentiments would be fine if it kept me engaged which sadly it did not.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watch Last Flag Flying on Netflix. The movie adaptation of the novels. Decided to try to read the books.
I saw the movie when it was first released. Glad I saw Nicholson's Badass before I read the book. But I am glad I read the book so I can compare the two versions. Not one of my favorite books, but it was short and I was listening to it while driving. I make no recommendation on the book, but I will now have to re-watch the movie...

[Mudwerks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an epic book in a short form story. Having seen the iconic film a few times, it blends right into the visual treatment I remember and jibes well with the feelings and characters.

A divergence occurs late in the story that fleshes things out a lot more than the film does.

A bit of a surprise - and a hard-hitting volume.

[Heather Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really got hooked on this story (would have been 5 star had I liked the ending)! The storyline revolves around 3 well developed characters and their antics while travelling. He gave us great insight into the life of a sailor, (the not so good side) and showed emotional commaridery between the men. Well done.